Botswana

Population (2014 est.): 2,155,784 (growth
rate: 1.26%); birth rate: 21.34/1000; infant mortality rate: 9.38/1000;
life expectancy: 54.06; note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2014 est.)

Geography

Twice the size of Arizona, Botswana is in
south-central Africa, bounded by Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South
Africa. Most of the country is near-desert, with the Kalahari occupying
the western part of the country. The eastern part is hilly, with salt
lakes in the north.

Government

Parliamentary republic.

History

The earliest inhabitants of the region were the
San, who were followed by the Tswana. About half the country today is
ethnic Tswana. The term for the country's people,
Batswana,
refers
to national rather than ethnic origin.

Encroachment by the Zulu in the 1820s and by
Boers from Transvaal in the 1870s and 1880s threatened the peace of the
region. In 1885, Britain established the area as a protectorate, then
known as Bechuanaland. In 1961, Britain granted a constitution to the
country. Self-government began in 1965, and on Sept. 30, 1966, the country
became independent. Botswana is Africa's oldest democracy.

The new country maintained good relations with
its white-ruled neighbors but gradually changed its policies, harboring
rebel groups from South Rhodesia as well as some from South Africa.

Although Botswana is rich in diamonds, it has
high unemployment and stratified socioeconomic classes. In 1999, the
nation suffered its first budget deficit in 16 years because of a slump in
the international diamond market. Yet Botswana remains one of the
wealthiest and most stable countries on the continent.

After 17 years in power, President Ketumile
Masire retired in 1997, and Festus Mogae, an Oxford-educated economist,
became the new president. Mogae has won high marks from the international
financial community for continuing to privatize Botswana's mining and
industrial operations.